Tuesday, March 09, 2010

PM Najib blinked first

Barisan Nasional can’t allow local council elections in just the Pakatan Rakyat states. If they do hold local council elections they will have to do it for the whole country. How would it look if just the four Pakatan Rakyat states hold local council elections while the remaining states under Barisan Nasional do not?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Local council elections are actually dangerous for both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. You really do not know what you are going to see. You throw the dice and hope that it lands the right way up. But then who can control the throw of the dice?

Did you notice that for the last two years since 8 March 2008 Pakatan Rakyat has been dragging its feet on the issue of local council elections? And I really don’t blame them. Imagine a situation like in Kelantan where PAS rules the state but Umno gets in at all the local councils. It would be utter chaos when the local councils move in the opposite direction to the state government. Umno can use the local councils to sabotage PAS and to bring down the state government.

This has been Pakatan Rakyat’s fear and that is why they have been treading very carefully these last two years. And this has not gone unnoticed. Those from the civil society movements, the NGOs, Bloggers, etc., have been grumbling about Pakatan Rakyat’s bikin tak serupa cakap -- not walking the talk. It is a promise Pakatan Rakyat made in the run-up to the March 2008 general election but something they are yet to deliver post March 2008.

Finally, Pakatan Rakyat could not delay any longer. Like it or not they had to announce the implementation of local council elections. But it is not something that Pakatan Rakyat can do on its own. They can’t just hold the elections as if they were holding a car boot sale on Sunday. It involves certain legal matters that need to first be resolved.

The authority to hold elections is the Election Commission (SPR). For example, Pakatan Rakyat can dissolve the State Assembly after obtaining the consent of the Ruler (or Governor for those states with no Rulers). But after that they have to inform the SPR that the State Assembly has been dissolved (or a certain seat is now vacant) and it is up to the SPR to decide when the election(s) will be held.

The same goes for local council elections. The SPR will be the authority that will manage these elections. But it can only be done if there are provisions for such elections. If not then new laws need to be introduced that allow and provide for local council elections.

And this is the problem Pakatan Rakyat is going to face. Parliament is controlled by Barisan Nasional, not by Pakatan Rakyat. And Barisan Nasional does not want local council elections for the same reason that PAS is worried about what would happen in Kelantan if local council elections were held. So expect this to be blocked by Parliament.

Let’s take Perak as an example. Say they hold local council elections in Perak, a state under Barisan Nasional control. And, say, Pakatan Rakyat comes in at all or most of the local councils. Can you imagine the headache Barisan Nasional is going to have? The state would move in the opposite direction. Pakatan Rakyat and not Barisan Nasional will be the real power in Perak.

And Barisan Nasional can’t allow local council elections in just the Pakatan Rakyat states. If they do hold local council elections they will have to do it for the whole country. How would it look if just the four Pakatan Rakyat states hold local council elections while the remaining states under Barisan Nasional do not? Chances are come next election the voters would hand these states to Pakatan Rakyat so that they too can have local council elections.

Lim Guan Eng actually made a brilliant move and I must take my French cap (beret) off to him. He looked Najib in the face and Najib blinked first. And now Khalid Ibrahim has announced the same for Selangor. Ustaz Azizan and Tok Guru Nik Aziz should also announce that Kedah and Kelantan are going to follow suit. This will really push Umno into a corner.

If Najib agrees to local council elections he is dead. Barisan Nasional is going to lose control of many states. If Najib does not agree he is also dead. Pakatan Rakyat would have one up on Barisan Nasional because it would appear like Pakatan Rakyat is not only more democratic but more progressive.

As I said, Lim Guan Eng made a brilliant move. And now he has Barisan Nasional’s balls in his hand. Guan Eng, you're da man! Hidup Guan Eng!

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About Me

Mohd Kamal Abdullah frequently writes in Malaysiakini, MalaysiaToday and in the FORUM column of MALAYSIA CHAT www.malaysia-chat.com. Kamal holds a law degree and was active in Malaysian Politics (a component party of Barisan Nasional) until of late, to concentrate on pursuing a post-graduate law degree in United Kingdom.